A herniated cervical disc is a condition that can cause severe pain in the neck. Symptoms may also include pain extending to the back of the head resulting in headaches. In addition, the pain may travel to the shoulder, down the arm and into the hand. At times, one may feel a numbness or tingling in the affected areas. More serious symptoms are muscle weakness causing diffiiculty using your arm associated with a weak hand grip. Occasionally, in advanced cases individuals may have difficulty walking. The condition is due to a disc bulging and out and pressing on a cervical nerve. It is also called a slipped or herniated disc. Doctors will sometimes use the term cervical radiculopathy.
If your symptoms are sufficient to interfere with your ability to work despite various treatmemts including surgery, then you should consider applying for social security benefits. You should also strongly consider using a lawyer specialization in disability cases to help guide you through the sometimes difficult and confusing process of applying for disability.
Social Security states that your condition or impairment must last at least 12 months. This is important to understand since you may be very disabled at the start of your treatment, but by one year you may have improved considerably and therefore probably be denied benefits.
During the application process you will be asked to provide all your medical records. These records will then be reviewed by doctors and disability specialists at the state disability office who will then make a decision as to your approval or denial for disability. The key factors they will be looking at are: 1. How many hours you can walk over an 8 hour working day. If a cervical disc affects your ability to walk. Social Security wishes to know in exact hours how limited your are in terms of walking over a normal day; such as 6 out of 8 hours, 2 out of 8 hours or significantly under 2 hours. The less time you can walk the better in terms of getting disability. 2. how many pounds you can lift and carry? Again, the fewer pounds you can lift, the better in terms of getting disability. 3. How well you can raise your arm. If you can only raise your arm above your head occasionally your chances are improved. 4. How well you can use your hand for grasping and doing fine fingering such as typing and writing? The key word Social Security is looking for is can you use your hands to perform these tasks occasionally or frequently. According to their rules, occasionally means one third of the day or less; frequently means more often than that. If they determine you can perform hand functions only occasionally, your chances of obtaining benefits is improved. However, they also take under consideration your age, past occupations and level of education. As stated earlier, it is very important that you obtain the services of an attorney to assist you in understanding how the disability process works.
Be sure to gather all your medical records as soon as possible since the whole process of applying for disability and long and sometimes confusing.